Public Act 095-0449
 
SB1224 Enrolled LRB095 10553 NHT 30771 b

    AN ACT concerning teachers.
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
 
    Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the
Teacher Homebuyer Assistance Act.
 
    Section 5. Legislative findings and declarations. The
General Assembly finds and declares all of the following:
        (1) Attracting and retaining fully qualified teachers
    is of paramount importance in ensuring that pupils have
    fair access to a quality education and a fair chance to
    succeed academically. This is especially critical for
    schools that have the greatest number and percentage of
    pupils with the most acute educational needs, who
    predictably may score lowest on academic achievement
    examinations.
        (2) A high priority should be placed on attracting and
    retaining quality teaching professionals who have
    demonstrated exemplary teaching ability, who serve in
    hard-to-staff schools, and who live in high-cost areas.
        (3) Teachers face housing problems that exacerbate
    school districts' efforts to attract and retain qualified
    teachers. Many cannot afford to live in the communities in
    which they teach, making it difficult for them to become
    active members of their school's community. Providing
    opportunities for teachers to participate in after-school
    activities, from tutoring to coaching, benefits the
    children and community in which the teacher is employed.
 
    Section 10. Definitions. In this Act:
    "Authority" means the Illinois Housing Development
Authority.
    "Hard-to-staff position" means a teaching category (such
as special education, mathematics, or science) in which
statewide data compiled by the State Board of Education
indicates a multi-year pattern of substantial teacher shortage
or that has been identified as a critical need by the school
board.
    "Hard-to-staff school" means an elementary or secondary
school that ranks in the upper third of schools in this State
in the number of teachers who leave their positions. The State
Board of Education shall rank schools for this purpose based on
mobility and teacher attrition over a 5-year average.
    "Teacher" means a person who is currently employed as a
full-time teacher in a hard-to-staff school or a hard-to-staff
position and who is certified in this State in the subject
field or grade level for which the teacher is employed.
    "Termination of employment" means that for whatever
reason, the borrower is no longer a teacher at any time during
the first 5 years immediately following the date of recordation
of the subordinate mortgage loan deed of trust. However, it
shall not be considered termination of employment if the
borrower is still employed at the same school at the time of
recordation of the subordinate mortgage loan, but the school is
no longer considered a hard-to-staff school or the position in
which the teacher is employed is no longer considered a
hard-to-staff position or if the borrower accepts a teaching
position at another public school and his or her departure from
the hard-to-staff school was involuntary. The Authority may
establish guidelines for consideration of hardship cases in
which it may waive this 5-year continuous employment
requirement.
 
    Section 15. Teacher homebuyer assistance program.
    (a) Subject to appropriation, the Authority shall
establish and administer a teacher homebuyer assistance
program and allocate funds in accordance with this Act. The
purpose of this program is to provide down payment assistance
to teachers for purchasing residences within the jurisdiction
in which they are employed.
    (b) The maximum down payment assistance to a teacher under
this Act shall be determined by the median home price in the
school district where the teacher is employed, as follows:
        (1) Any teacher employed in a school district with a
    median home price over $300,000 is eligible for maximum
    down payment assistance of $20,000.
        (2) Any teacher employed in a school district with a
    median home price from $150,000 to $300,000, inclusive, is
    eligible for maximum down payment assistance of $15,000.
        (3) Any teacher employed in a school district with a
    median home price below $150,000 is eligible for maximum
    down payment assistance of $10,000.
    (c) Assistance under this Act shall be in the form of a
deferred payment, low-interest subordinate mortgage loan with
a term not longer than the term of the first mortgage loan.
Interest on this subordinate mortgage loan shall accrue at a
rate of up to 5% per annum.
    (d) The borrower's obligation to repay the loan shall be
evidenced by a lien consisting of a deed of trust, subordinate
in priority to the borrower's first mortgage loan financing
required to purchase the property. If the borrower has
continuously been a teacher for the 5-year period immediately
following the date of recordation of the subordinate mortgage
loan deed of trust and there has been no termination of
employment, then repayment of the subordinate mortgage loan
shall be forgiven and considered a grant so long as the
borrower produces employment records, to the Authority's
satisfaction, that the borrower has continuously been a teacher
during that 5-year period.
    (e) Repayment of the principal and accrued interest is due
and payable at the earlier of the following events:
        (1) sale of the residence;
        (2) the borrower's failure to continuously occupy the
    residence in accordance with paragraph (3) of Section 20 of
    this Act; or
        (3) satisfaction of the first mortgage loan.
In no event shall this loan be assumable.
    (f) In the event of termination of employment by the
borrower within the first 5 years following recordation of the
subordinate mortgage loan deed of trust, the borrower shall be
obligated to repay to the Authority, in addition to other
amounts due on the loan, the pro rata amount of principal and
accrued interest on the loan that directly relates to the
period of time within that 5-year period in which the borrower
was not a teacher. In order to qualify for any pro rata
forgiveness of repayment of the loan, the borrower shall
produce employment records to the Authority's satisfaction
that the borrower was a teacher for the period in which the pro
rata forgiveness of loan is sought. If the borrower produces
evidence acceptable to the Authority that the borrower has
satisfied all of the requirements specified in this Section to
qualify for forgiveness of the loan in total, the Authority
must execute any documents that may be necessary so that the
borrower may clear title.
 
    Section 20. Qualifying for loan. In order to qualify for a
loan under this Act, all of the following criteria must be met:
        (1) The borrower must qualify as a teacher.
        (2) The borrower's gross household income must not
    exceed 125% of the area median income, as defined by the
    U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
        (3) The residence financed under this Act must be
    continuously occupied by the borrower as his or her
    principal residence for at least 5 years following the
    recordation of the deed of trust securing the subordinate
    mortgage loan. If the borrower fails to meet this
    condition, the principal and accrued interest of the loan
    is immediately due and payable.
        (4) The residence being financed must be a
    single-family residence, condominium, or manufactured home
    located within the boundaries of the school district that
    employs the borrower.
 
    Section 25. Rules. The State Board of Education and the
Authority may adopt any rules necessary to carry out their
responsibilities under this Act.
 
    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
becoming law.